President Mahinda Rajapakse has informed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that devolving of police powers to the provincial councils was not acceptable by the Sri Lankan government, Minister of External Affairs Professor G. L. Peiris informed Parliament today.

Minister Peiris who was responding to a statement made by Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremsinghe who raised a question on the reports which said the Indian Prime Minister had told President Rajapaksa to work towards bringing about national reconciliation in Sri Lanka, by implementing a solution to the national issue by devolving powers, which went beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Professor Peiris said President Rajapaksa explained the position of the Sri Lankan government during the bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi when the former visited Delhi in May this year.

He said the President had also informed the Indian Premier that any solution to the national issue should be deliberated through a Parliamentary Select Committee. The Minister recalled that the same was communicated to Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms Sushma Swaraj when she earlier visited Sri Lanka as the leader of the opposition of Lok Sabha.

The Minister said the talks between the two leaders consisted of a host of issues including bilateral trade, Mr. Modi`s vision for SAARC and many more. (Yohan Perera)